Blair Jones Named to AHL All-Star Team

NORFOLK, Va. â€“ Norfolk Admirals and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect forward Blair Jones has been named to the Canadian AHL All-Star team for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic to be played next week at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Jones will replace Admirals leading scorer Brandon Bochenski, who was named a starter to the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team but is currently on NHL recall to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jones, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, has six goals and 13 assists in 27 games for the Admirals in 2009-10. Currently he is third on the team in assists and tied for fourth in points. The fourth-year pro has also played in 14 games with Tampa Bay this season, recording ten penalty minutes and averaging 12:50 in ice time per game.

Last season, Jones set career highs with 20 goals, 34 assists and 54 points in all 80 games with Norfolk. He ranked second in scoring, fourth in goals, second in assists and tied for second in power play goals (8) with Norfolk in 2008-09. He also established a new AHL Admirals franchise record with 271 shots on goal, ranking third in the American Hockey League.

Jones, 23, has appeared in 182 games with the Admirals over the past three seasons, tallying 40 goals and 75 assists for 115 points. He ranks ninth all-time in AHL Admirals points, seventh in assists and ninth in games played. Jones has appeared in 227 career AHL contests between Norfolk and the Springfield Falcons, recording 45 goals and 136 points.

Jones has appeared in 38 career NHL games with the Lightning, recording a goal and three points. He was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Prior to turning pro, Jones played in 249 career games in the Western Hockey League with the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Red Deer Rebels. He scored 61 goals and handed out 112 assists during his junior career. He appeared in 56 playoff games and scored 13 goals while tallying 35 points. His team made the postseason in each of his four WHL seasons.